WASHINGTON – The Republican-led House yesterday voted to ban all human cloning, defeating a proposal by some congressmen to allow it just for scientific research.

If the Senate goes along with the House, which passed the ban 265-162 after hours of emotional debate, President Bush will sign the no-cloning measure into law, White House officials said.

Illegal cloning of humans would be punishable by a fine of up to $1 million and 10 years in jail.

That could halt the announced plans by some scientists to begin human cloning – an act that became conceivable after scientists used cloning to make Dolly the sheep in 1997.

Reps. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.) and Peter Deutsch (D-Fla.) pushed for an amendment that would have allowed the cloning of embryos for research they said could lead to cures for Alzheimer’s and juvenile diabetes. But the House voted 249-178 against it.

“This House should not be giving the green light to mad scientists to tinker with the gift of life,” said Rep. J.C. Watts (R-Okla.).

“Cloning is an insult to humanity. It is science gone crazy.”

A similar cloning ban has been introduced in the Senate, and Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said he was “opposed to the effort to clone under virtually any circumstances.”

Lawmakers spent much of the day’s debate plunging into the ethics of biotechnology.

“This is about providing moral leadership for a watching world,” said Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

“Allowing the creation of cloned embryos by law would enable anyone to attempt to clone a human being,” he said.

“There are ways for us to get these answers [about treating diseases] without messing with cloning,” Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), who supported the total ban.